Death Saved Dog Repays Debt

Updated : May 8, 2009

VeryHappyPig has often pleaded with our farm owner not to send us to the slaughter house and despite nearly being pushed onto the truck on more than one occasion Farmer Jack has always shown pity and put VHP back in the pen.

As a result VHP has always tried to impress him and prove valuable. VeryHappyPig often cleans out the pig sty, ensures no other pigs decide to take up dieting and hence loose bodyweight and also ensures that good rates of piglets are produced every year.

But we certainly wouldn’t show the loyalty the dog in our next story showed.

A dog that a Wildomar man once saved from being put to sleep threw himself between his master and a marauding mountain lion at Lake Elsinore on Tuesday.

The dog and the mountain lion fought a ferocious battle at one of the lake's campgrounds that saved the man's life and nearly killed the dog, who was rushed into four hours of surgery, according to authorities.

State officials say Hoagie the dog likely provoked the mountain lion
"There's no question the dog saved his life," said Orange County sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.

The incident occurred about 1 p.m. at the Blue Jay Campground, Amormino said. The man, who was walking with his wife, and Hoagie had walked ahead, when the mountain lion appeared and charged at the man. The dog intervened.

Hoagie was taken to a veterinarian in Wildomar and made it through surgery. Park rangers closed the campground and searched for the mountain lion late Tuesday. The couple were not hurt.